Canadian GP 2012

Hello
I've just bought ticket for this year's Canadian GP and am planning to get to Montreal on Thursday noon, does anyone know if they still have the pit walk open to public on Thursday? if yes, what's the time window of it?

any racing/F1 festivities in Montreal during that weekend that you recommend?

HelloI've just bought ticket for this year's Canadian GP and am planning to get to Montreal on Thursday noon, does anyone know if they still have the pit walk open to public on Thursday? if yes, what's the time window of it?

any racing/F1 festivities in Montreal during that weekend that you recommend?

thank youLouis

There is a massive F1 festival on Crescent St plus numerous other events spread about the downtown area. St Laurent St has some festival events and has street restaurants set up. The streets adjacent to Crescent feature Ferrari, BMW Mini, British sports car, events and displays. One thing about Montreal, you definitely know there is a grand prix going on. Old Port Montreal is the historic area and had nice dining but few F1 related festivities. I get there on Thursday also but too late for the pit walk so I don't know what time it runs.Crescent St Montreal F1 Formula One Festivities by ericok, on Flickr

Due to work commitments, I can no longer go to Spa this year as planned, so instead I'm off to Montreal!

I've been told (by friends that have been before) that Crescent Street is THE place to be during F1 weekend, as Ericok says. Loads of street bars, promo girls, car displays etc. Haven't heard anything about any specific parties - maybe our Canadian friends could help as it closer to GP week?

The pit walk last year took place at 0900-1200 on the Thursday - apparently it was rammed. Don't think they've announced this year's details yet.

Expecting big things from this weekend. Whenever I've spoken to mechanics/journalists about which are the best GPs to visit, they usually say Melbourne or Montreal.

HelloI've just bought ticket for this year's Canadian GP and am planning to get to Montreal on Thursday noon, does anyone know if they still have the pit walk open to public on Thursday? if yes, what's the time window of it?

any racing/F1 festivities in Montreal during that weekend that you recommend?

thank youLouis

Pit walk is rarely confirmed until a week or so before the event, but trust me, it is part of the annual festivities of the race.Over the past years, the pit walk has been traditionally been held between 09h00-13h00. I don't expect that schedule to change in 2012.

Shuttles will take you from from the entrance of the circuit to the paddock area. No need to walk all the way to the paddocks :-)

As far as festivities are concerned, none have been announced yet. I can keep you updated if needed. I expect Will Buxton of SPEED Channel to have another meet & greet with race fans in a local pub as he did last year. Karun Chandhok came by to say hello as well.

thanks for the information everyone, please keep them coming, I want to make this an enjoyable weekend for my wife with all these festivities.
I brought her to Germany and Hungary last year, but there wasn't the F1 atmosphere outside of the track - the meet and greet with WIll Buxton sounds pretty interesting.

Going to my 14th! That includes Mosport and the Montreal track as it was in late 70s, early 80s.

Last year we did the pit walk. Key is to get to the track and await the shuttles as early as possible. We got there about 8am. Had a little bit of a wait but the crowd was friendly and it didn't seem long. We were in one of the first shuttle buses to arrive and had the run of the pit area. It did eventually become quite crowded but it was a gradual enough build up that it didn't seem bad. Worst was the line up for the autograph tables. We didn't even attempt that one!

Does anyone know what areas of Montreal are affected by the student protests? I've been following the news, and the new emergency laws seem to have added fuel to the situation:

"Tensions were high during the nightly protests over the weekend after the bill was passed last Friday. More than 300 people were arrested on Sunday night alone and at least 20 were injured, including 11 police officers — though none seriously. Another protest was scheduled for Monday night, for the 28th day in a row".

I know the circuit's well away from the university and downtown area, so I'm sure the GP itself will be fine. I'm just wondering how it might affect the downtown GP festivities.

Does anyone know what areas of Montreal are affected by the student protests? I've been following the news, and the new emergency laws seem to have added fuel to the situation:

"Tensions were high during the nightly protests over the weekend after the bill was passed last Friday. More than 300 people were arrested on Sunday night alone and at least 20 were injured, including 11 police officers — though none seriously. Another protest was scheduled for Monday night, for the 28th day in a row".

I know the circuit's well away from the university and downtown area, so I'm sure the GP itself will be fine. I'm just wondering how it might affect the downtown GP festivities.

yes I'm concerned about the protest as well, this is so disturbing.

Cheesy Poofs - i believe there's a ferry system that can take people to the island, can you please tell me where / how to take this as an alternative to the metro/subway system? In case of violence during the GP weekend.

thanks for the link, although i've some difficulities understanding where to b get off in order to get to the Notre Dame island, should i be getting off at the Ile Sainte Helene and walk all the way to the Ile Notre Dame?

thanks for the link, although i've some difficulities understanding where to b get off in order to get to the Notre Dame island, should i be getting off at the Ile Sainte Helene and walk all the way to the Ile Notre Dame?

I imagine so. The metro stop for the GP is on Ile Saint-Helene, so we would be walking to the circuit from there anyway.

I was hoping maybe Cheesy Poofs or someone could help me find a restaurant we visited many years ago while attending the Grand Prix. It was sort of a cafeteria/food court with a outdoor terrace with a bar. I'm pretty sure it was near Chinatown and not too far from the Old Port. We've looked high and low and never came across it again. It wasn't the type of food court like you find near Metro stops...more upscale. They had like different stations with steaks or Pizza, baked good, etc. We stumbled upon it by accident. Any ideas?

I was hoping maybe Cheesy Poofs or someone could help me find a restaurant we visited many years ago while attending the Grand Prix. It was sort of a cafeteria/food court with a outdoor terrace with a bar. I'm pretty sure it was near Chinatown and not too far from the Old Port. We've looked high and low and never came across it again. It wasn't the type of food court like you find near Metro stops...more upscale. They had like different stations with steaks or Pizza, baked good, etc. We stumbled upon it by accident. Any ideas?

Good question Dick! You've described a bunch of places in the area!!! I'll come back with some suggestions for you if you want.

That would be great Cheesy Poofs. Another thing I remember was that it was very dark. Kind of cavern like. Naturally we found it after spending all day at the track drinking beer so my memory is pretty fuzzy. Hope the weather is hot and dry and the political issues don't ruin things.

In what way? I've already arrived in Canada (currently on the west coast) and may not have packed for "appalling"

I'm disappointed too about Thursday. I'm due to arrive in Montreal on Wednesday and was looking forward to it. But I guess it would be a logistical nightmare to set up the necessary security to make it ticket-holders only, at such short notice, in addition to Fri/Sat/Sun.

Guys.. Nevermind the pitwalk... Just make sure you are in town on Friday night when they close the street and fill it with Ferrari's! One of the great sights/vibes of any G.P around the world.. (and I've been to most of them...)

Sith,
Is that going to be on Peel St like in the past? I'm not finding much information on what is going on around the city during the GP weekend. Is Little Italy having their festival? That was one of my favorites. They had Go Karts last year that was quite interesting.

In what way? I've already arrived in Canada (currently on the west coast) and may not have packed for "appalling"

Well, it was only 10 degrees C and it rained quite a bit - I guess it wasn't too bad. I hope the weather improves - as great as last year's wet race was, Montreal is the one Grand Prix that does not need rain to make it interesting!

I was out on St. Denis last night and loved it - it had a lot of character and a proper 'edge' to it. Plus I loved the French girls' accents

Does anyone know of any driver appearances in the city this week or have all the PR events been scaled back due to the protests? I think Kimi Raikkonen is scheduled to do an autograph session on Crescent Street on Thursday evening, but I'm not aware of any other similar events.

Well, it was only 10 degrees C and it rained quite a bit - I guess it wasn't too bad. I hope the weather improves - as great as last year's wet race was, Montreal is the one Grand Prix that does not need rain to make it interesting!

Sounds similar to Vancouver at the moment Thanks for the heads-up, I'll keep an eye on the forecast in case I need to buy something warmer.

Well, it was only 10 degrees C and it rained quite a bit - I guess it wasn't too bad. I hope the weather improves - as great as last year's wet race was, Montreal is the one Grand Prix that does not need rain to make it interesting!

I was out on St. Denis last night and loved it - it had a lot of character and a proper 'edge' to it. Plus I loved the French girls' accents

Does anyone know of any driver appearances in the city this week or have all the PR events been scaled back due to the protests? I think Kimi Raikkonen is scheduled to do an autograph session on Crescent Street on Thursday evening, but I'm not aware of any other similar events.

any idea what time & where is the Kimi autograph session scheduled at?